Joan Vassos has celebrated her The Golden Bachelorette journey with a "send-off party" prior to filming the series this summer.
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Joan's family and friends honored the first The Golden Bachelorette star by throwing her a big bash.
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Joan, a 61-year-old grandmother and school administrator from Rockland, MD, posted photos of the gathering, which featured gold balloons and Joan rocking a gold mini-dress, via Instagram Stories.
"My sweet friends threw me a golden send off last night!" Joan gushed.
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In one of the pictures, Joan posed in front of a sign that read, "Congratulations Joan. Good luck on your golden journey."
The party also featured a gold disco ball which read, "Time to shine," as well as custom cocktails called "The Final Rose" and "Here for the Right Reasons."
Joan said she felt "so thankful" and was "feeling the love" from her "crew" -- which appeared to be more than two dozen people -- who had attended her send-off party, and she also gushed about the incredible details of the decor.
The Golden Bachelorette is set to film later this summer, according to BachelorNation.com, and Joan's season will premiere this fall on ABC.
The Golden Bachelorette will air 90-minute episodes on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT this fall, but an exact premiere date for the series and Joan's cast of bachelors have yet to be officially announced.
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Joan wrote to fans on May 15 on Instagram, "The first Golden Bachelorette... I truly can't believe it! I'm positively overwhelmed by the love and support you are all sending my way. Thank you @abc for picking me and @bachelornation for rooting for me!"
"As I embark on this journey, I hope to make you all proud, follow my heart, and have a lot of fun along the way," she continued. "I'm honored to represent all of the golden ladies out there, turns out we aren't invisible after all."
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After quitting Gerry Turner's The Golden Bachelor season last year for the sake of her daughter's mental health back at home, Joan still found dating to be "hard," and then she was announced as The Golden Bachelorette star in May.
"If it ends up in engagement, I'm open to that," Joan told CNN on May 14. "I do believe this process works. I've seen it work for so many couples on The Bachelor, so I believe in the process. If it ends up in engagement, that's great."
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Joan elaborated, "I probably won't rush into a marriage right away -- and not only because of what happened with Gerry and Theresa. I think it takes some time to really get to know somebody. Out in the wild, in the real world, you need to spend some time there."
ABC said she'll bring "grace and charm" to viewers' television screens this fall.
"She is a remarkable woman whose life has been defined by her resilience, zest for adventure and strong family values. It was those family values that led to her heartbreaking decision to leave The Golden Bachelor," ABC teased.
"Despite that and other challenges she's faced along the way... [Joan] remains an embodiment of strength and grace as a devoted mother of four, grandmother of two, and school administrator, while finding solace in the music of Elton John, spending time with her dog, and cooking."
On The Golden Bachelor: The Women Tell All late last year, Joan got emotional when watching her journey back on the show, and she told host Jesse Palmer how she felt really bad about disappointing and hurting Gerry.
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"If circumstances had been different and you stayed, you think it might've worked out with Gerry?" Jesse asked the bachelorette.
"I think we had a good chance," Joan replied.
"Gerry helped make me feel visible. He looked at me and he cared about what I was saying and he wanted to get to know me. Society makes us feel like we've had out chance, we've had our children, and now it's time to support the next generation and kind of take a backseat. And Gerry opened my heart."
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Joan told The Wrap in November 2023 that, after leaving Gerry during Week 2 of The Golden Bachelor season, she briefly considered returning to the show and resuming filming once she helped her daughter because she felt like she had "unfinished business."
However, Joan soon came to realize that her daughter's mental health was still suffering and she needed to stay by her side as she struggled with postpartum depression.
Even though Joan didn't return to The Golden Bachelor, she admitted to Jesse on The Women Tell All that she "held out hope" Gerry would also quit the show and chase her down.
"I did think a couple times maybe I would come around the corner, coming home from work, and [Gerry] would be sitting on my front porch," Joan confessed.
Joan said she sometimes caught herself thinking about what could have been with Gerry.
"I went from wanting to find somebody to craving it now. It was such a good feeling and I'm working hard to find it; I'm not giving up," Joan shared.
Joan took to Instagram shortly after The Golden Bachelor episode featuring her exit aired on ABC, and she hinted that she'd like to continue her journey to find love on TV, writing, "Sometimes the timing doesn't work out with finding love. I hope one day I will get the chance at love again."
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Gerry ultimately selected Theresa Nist as his winner and the couple got engaged during the November 2023 season finale.
The Golden Bachelor couple got married in a live televised special dubbed The Golden Wedding on January 4 on ABC, but they announced their decision to divorce just three months later on April 12.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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